Reasons
by keepcalmandcarryon20
Summary: Rachel didn't like to stop moving. Because when you stopped moving, that's when all the bad things started to catch up. And when the bad things caught up… Accidents happened. *Faberry Week - Day Two - Zombies*


**A/N: I know I've pretty much abandoned my other stories (damn you writer's block), but I just kinda quickly (stressing the quickly part here people) wrote this for Faberry Week – Day Two – Zombie prompt. Enjoy :)**

She didn't mean to find herself alone.

One moment everyone seemed to lose themselves for the first time in what felt like forever; Mike was dancing around the room, Finn was beating on some pots, Kurt was doing his little dance, and Mercedes was doing some rifts. Santana was still sitting off to the side cleaning her gun as per usual since the Accident. They had found an abandoned building with barricaded windows, and the gang decided to spend the night there. Rachel's vision kept flicking to the only door and window in the room. She had a terrible feeling in her gut.

They thought they were safe.

Rachel was the only one to hear them at first.

The faint scratches on the walls and the low groans sent an all too familiar chill down her spine. A few months ago, Rachel probably would have cried and wished for her dads. But now?

Now she was ready.

Without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed her gun and pointed it at the door. Moving backwards to window, silence encased the small metal room. Her heartbeat seemed to echo throughout the room. A quick glance to the left showed Santana with a perfect stance, AR-15 at the ready. Finn was struggling to get up and get his gun out, Mike had his bow ready, Kurt had his knives, and Mercedes had her glock.

The only sounds were their ragged breaths, until Santana said with determination, "for Britts."

Then Hell broke loose.

The rusted door came down after two hits, and a Walker with half his face missing, one with his left hand missing, and a small kid Walker came barreling through, hunger in their milky eyes.

Santana was the first to shoot, taking out Half Face. Mercedes nicked Righty, while Rachel shot Smalls in the head. As soon as one Walker was done, three more showed up. Soon the metal room was filled with gun shots, screams, and groans.

Rachel prided herself on her intelligence and observation skills. Some may say that she was annoying, at best. But no one… No one could say she was blind. And Rachel knew when she was fighting a lost battle.

And this was exactly that.

The stream of Walkers was continuous. By now there was already a good sized pile by the door. It was dark out, so she couldn't see exactly how many were left through the door hole, but she knew how many bullets she had… Not enough. She quickly found herself at the window. Before she turned around to tear the wood blocking it down, she heard a blood curdling scream.

Whipping around she saw Finn nowhere in sight (although the giant pile of Walkers might have been a clue) and a Walker pounce on Mercedes, chewing on her left arm.

"'CEDES!" Kurt screamed, stabbing the zombie in the head until it released Mercedes' arm and fell limp. Kurt dropped to his knees and cradled her head in his hands. He whispered something to her through his tears and her screams, but Rachel couldn't hear what it was.

Kurt was the next to go.

With the pile of Walkers quickly increasing, Rachel worked at the window. There was suddenly a shot directly behind her. Turning around, she saw Santana's taut back.

"I got your ass, Berry. You get out of here and you live. You find help and you use that huge head of yours and you fix this. For us. For Britt. For _her. _You get out of here – DO YOU HEAR ME? You were always meant to live out of all of us. Always."

"Thank you, San. I promise. I love you."

"TASTE MAH LIMA HEIGHTS, MOTHAFUCKAS!"

And with that the wood on the window broke loose and Rachel managed to break off a chunk at the base of the window. Wiggling through, she fell until her right shoulder connected with dry, tall grass. Rolling, Rachel was greeted with darkness. Looking around, she was able to deduce that the room she fell from was the back of the building and that a herd of Walkers must be in the front. She quickly hopped to her feet and ran from the screams behind her. She ran with her Glock G17, her small backpack of whatever she could scavenge, including amo and first aid, her two knives, and the moon as her only companions.

When she said she didn't mean to find herself alone, she honestly meant it. She didn't _plan _for a herd of Walkers to come intruding in her and her friends' hide out. She didn't _plan _to lose the only people she loved. She didn't _plan _to run away.

But in a world infested with walking corpses with a hunger for your flesh… Plans kind of go out the window.

She only had to take down two Walkers with a quick stab to the head before she found a little shack. It was in the middle of an open field, and with the full moon as her light, Rachel quickly peered in and checked that there were no Walkers.

Closing the door behind her, she slumped against the wood.

Rachel didn't like to stop moving. Because when you stopped moving, that's when all the bad things started to catch up. And when the bad things caught up… Accidents happened.

* * *

They had both snuck off for a moment from the group. They had done so many times before.

"Hey, Berry." The smirk was there. It was always there. And it always made Rachel's knees weak.

They both knew the drill.

Rachel had never thought she would find herself here… With _her. _Granted, she really never thought she would be fighting off zombies every day. When the world had literally gone to Hell, Rachel was shocked to find herself becoming so close to _her. _Their friendship became so much more in such a short span of time. They were always looking out for each other; protecting each other.

She was even there for Rachel when she found out her Dads had fallen. The group had traveled by the Berry's house where Rachel found the note.

"Rach,

If you found this note, your dad and I want you to know that we love you _very _much. You are the light of our lives. You are our hopes and dreams. And without you our days are dark. Never forget how proud we are of you. Never forget that you are built on love. Never forget that you have the world's biggest heart in you. We love you so so much. You are our star.

But by now, your dad and I are your very own pair of stars. Watching over you. Protecting you. If you ever miss us, just sing, and we'll be there.

We love you, Peanut. Stay strong and don't forget to live,

Daddy and Dad."

There was a sun and a moon at the end of the note.

Rachel had never cried that hard as much as she did that day. And _she_ was there… Comforting her… Holding her… Drying her tears… She was _there. _

And she was _here. Now._

But then the twig snapped.

A walker with short brown hair came charging out of the woods they were in. Breaking apart, Rachel was pushed in the direction of the group. "RUN!" was shouted at her. And she did.

By the time she got back to the group, the group was already under attack.

They fought the Walkers as best as they could for a group of kids.

But, then again, they were only a bunch of kids against the walking dead.

They lost Puck, Sugar, Tina, Sam, and Brittany. They almost lost Santana when the Walker got to Brittany, but Finn was able to wrestle her gun from her once all the Walkers were gone. Santana's screams echoed in her heart as she looked for _her. _

"QUINN! _QUINN!_ QUUUUUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN! " She screamed and screamed and screamed until her voice gave out. Mike went back into the woods to look for her. Rachel's heart sunk when he came back alone.

They never left each other's side for a month, traveling in silence.

* * *

Rachel's tears felt cold on her face. It felt like there was a bowling ball in her gut and she struggled to breathe.

_It's not fair! It's not fucking fair!_

In a world falling apart, Rachel had found a reason to stay together. She had found her reason to still have hope, to fight for her life, and demand a better future. She had found her _reason. _

And it was ripped from her fucking hands.

It was ripped from her hands and shredded to pieces.

Shaking her head, Rachel dried her tears.

"No. No – I refuse to break. I can't… I – I made a promise."

But Quinn. Quinn was always on her mind. Rachel couldn't stop thinking about her. Why did she have to _go? _Why did she have to _die _for _her? _Why Rachel? Why Quinn? Why Brittany and Santana? Why Sam and Mercedes? Why Tina and Mike? Why Finn and Puck? Why her dad and daddy?

Fuck zombies. They stole her friends. They stole her love.

But they wouldn't steal her.

With her glock in her hand, Rachel closed her eyes to sleep. Her lips had a ghost of a tingle, and in her mind, she saw wisps of blonde hair, hazel eyes, a small smile, and a soft voice rang out, reading a passage she had heard many months before.

"I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."

And use her time, she will.


End file.
